Process for making metal ingots.



L. B. TEBBETTS, 2D.

PROCESS FOR MAKING METAL INGOTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4. Hill.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Mir-Eur. TED 55E BE. 5 j rria. a-

LEWIS B. TEBBETTS, 2]), OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PROCESS FOR MAKING INGOTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed December 4, 1917. Serial No. 205,360.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lewis B. TEBBErTs, 2d, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Process for Making Metal Ingots, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new and useful process for making metal ingots adapted for rolling into sheets.

Heretofore it has been the practice that metals such as aluminum, antimonial lead, lead, brass, copper, tin alloys and the like were cast into rolling ingots in upright molds open at the top. When such ingots are cast a shrinkage hole is formed in the top edge of the ingot surrounding which shrinkage hole there is formed an area of defective metal containing impurities and being of a porous or spongy character. When such in ots are rolled into sheets there has been a substantial wastage of metal by reason of the necessity of discarding that portion of the sheet in which the area surrounding the shrinkage hole in the ingot is formed.

It is known in casting ingots that a shrinkage hole occurs where the metal cools last. It has therefore been impractical heretofore to cast ingots in fiat molds for the reason thata shrinkage hole would occur in the center of the top face of the ingot so that when such an ingot was rolled into sheets the defective portion of the sheet would be in the center thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of casting ingots in fiat molds and cooling the mass of the metal within the mold from the center outwardly, so that the outside of the ingot will be the last to cool thereby eliminating a shrinkage hole formation in the ingot,'producing an ingot of uniform formation throughout so that there will b80110 wastage of metal when such ingots are rolled into sheets.

The accomplishment of this object, as well as other advantages, is effected by the process hereinafter disclosed. The process consists in casting the metal in a flat open mold and cooling the ingot from the center outwardly by applying a. cooling agent at the center of the molten mass so that the outpr edges of the ingot will be the last to coo In the drawing I have illustrated an apparatus which is effective for satisfactorily producing the process of the invention, it being understood, however, that the principle'of the process may be carried into effect by other "apparatus.

In the drawing Figure l is a plan view of the apparatus; and,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

In the drawing an open fiat mold 1 is arranged above a Water conduit 2 provided with an upright nozzle 3 arranged to eject a volume of water against the bottom of the mold upon an area atthe center thereof. For convenience, the conduit 2 may be controlled by a valve 4. I

The metal is poured into the mold which is of thin sheet metal and will remain in a molten state for a sufficient period of time t9 permit the impurities in the metal to rise to the top and to be skimmed off, after which the coolin agent is applied, cooling the mass from t e center outwardly. The resulting ingot will be free from impurities and no shrinkage hole will be formed therein.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process of casting ingots having smooth surfaces and suitable for rolling into sheets consisting in ouring the molten metal into open flat mol s and cooling the same by applying a cooling agent at a point substantially at the center of the bottom of the mass.

2.'The process of casting metal ingots having smooth surfaces and suitable for rolling into sheets which consists in pouring the molten metal into an open top flat mold, allowing the impurities to rise to the top of the mold, and then applying a cooling agent to the center of the bottom of the mass whereby the same is cooled from the center outwardly.

LEWIS B. TEBBETTS, 2D. 

